Coming back to work after the Christmas break is rarely easy but could HR be downplaying its impact on employees? According to a recent study, 79 per cent of workers will suffer from work-related stress when they return.
January blues
While the festive season may have offered a brief respite from work, the anxiety over returning is far from insignificant – just 27 per cent of employees said they wouldn’t feel any stress at all when they come back from the Christmas break.
In the UK-based survey by MetLife, forty-three per cent of workers stated that having to readjust after taking time off will be their biggest cause of stress.
Thirty-one per cent said that catching up with work backlogs will be their main cause of stress and 25 per cent will be stressed due to the financial strains they came under due to their Christmas spending.
“Making the most of time away from work is important and employees need to be able to relax,” said employee benefits director Tom Gaynor.
“Of course it is a bit of a shock to the system having to go back to routines after holidays but readjusting should not be a cause of stress and worry,” he continued.
“However, it seems it is a concern for many people as they worry about catching up with backlogs at work. Workplace stress is a major issue for employers and employees and it has a real impact on business performance.”
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